Masquerade
by Just Sayin' 123
Summary: Life is a masquerade in which we all wear masks. Draco Malfoy wears one. There's only one person with whom he lets the mask slip. His mate. The problem is, she's refusing to take hers off. What's behind the mask? Rated M for violence and mention of rape
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One:  
><strong>AN: This is a Veela story. Don't like, don't read.**

**Draco's POV**

He'd always known that she had been around, that she had turned seventeen roughly five years after he had. What he never had managed to figure out though, was how he had not found her as soon as she had turned seventeen, reaching her wizarding inheritance therefore her soul being able to call out to him. It had, for exactly sixteen hours, twelve minutes and thirty-four seconds before being suddenly cut off, not having called long enough for him to find her. It wasn't like she had died, because nothing had happened to him other than the obvious loss of her soul reaching for him. It was simply as though she had realised what her body was doing without her knowledge and had decided to make it stop, which he hadn't realised could happen.

His parents had been at a loss as well, unable to make either heads or tails or the situation. Neither had the Veela historians, who had not found any recordings of anything similar happening ever in Veela history. Because that's what Draco Malfoy was, a pureblood Veela masquerading as a pureblood wizard.

No-one had had the answer when, five years ago, he had been called to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry to start school as a first year. It was due to many complicated glamours he had been able to appear as an eleven year old, and when his mate did not show, every year after that for five years make it seem as though he was aging. He did not know why he had to do this, only that he had to do it. He somehow knew that he would meet his mate at Hogwarts, but not when. He would be starting his sixth year at Hogwarts this year and, at last, he knew he would meet his mate this year, very soon. Sure enough, for the first time in decades, his mate's soul was calling out to him once more, a balm to his own, long-neglected one. Her soul had been calling for two days this time, and he was getting closer.

He was in Diagon Alley, where she was so close he could smell her. Following his nose now as well as the pull on his heart, Draco walked past the Leaky Cauldron Inn and towards Madame Malkin's robe shop. She was in there, he knew it. Cautiously he pulled open the door, sniffing experimentally. Her scent swirled around him, teasing him. Encouraged, he opened the door fully and stepped inside, releasing the door to snap shut behind him. Draco's gaze swept the shop, and landed on Severus Snape, his 'godfather' as far as the humans were aware. Standing next to Severus was an angel. His angel. Laughing. With Severus. HIS.

Snarling, Draco approached the pair, his gait that of a dangerous predator. Stopping just behind his mate no longer snarling, who was facing Severus still, unaware of his presence, Draco glared at the other Veela. Severus' eyes widened fractionally and flickered between Draco and his mate, realisation dawning as he looked at Draco in askance. Draco nodded stiffly, still angry that his mate was laughing with another male, a _competitor_ and not him.

His mate noticed his presence and turned around, startled at his closeness, and jerked backwards towards Severus. Severus, Draco noted with satisfaction, took several steps back as well, so as not to angry Draco further.

"Sorry, I didn't see you there." His mate spoke to him, a slight apologetic look on her face. Draco could only stare. She was beautiful, perfect. She had dark green eyes, (_Slytherin colour_, he thought smugly), and jet-black hair with a few freckles dusting her nose and cheeks. _Gorgeous_ he mentally sighed. Almost on its own accord, his hand began reaching slowly for her face, until he changed course realising she was expecting a reply. He grasped her hand, marvelling at how small it was and how perfectly it fit in his, and lifted her hand to his lips.

"Not at all, sweetheart, the fault lies with me entirely, in standing too close." She blushed slightly at the endearment. "Draco, at your service," _Forever_, he added to himself, "May I ask what brings you to Madame Malkin's?" His mate smiled, and he melted a little, until she pulled her hand from his and he held back a whimper at the loss of contact.

"Zara Shadow." She said smoothly, unaware of Draco memorising every detail of her as well as her name. She glanced behind her at Severus. "Although I suppose some could argue that I'm Zara Snape."

_Wait, what? _She laughed. Draco blinked. He must've said that out lout without realising.

"Severus is my dad." _Oh. Well now I feel like an idiot. Competition, indeed._ Draco scoffed at himself. Zara, unaware of his internal mood, continued."But I only found out a little while ago, so we're still getting to know each other. I'll be starting at Hogwarts this year, as a sixth year, which is why we're here, looking for school robes. I've already been sorted, into Slytherin actually which is the same house that Dad was in when he went to Hogwarts. Still, hearing about the house qualities, I would have thought I would be in Hufflepuff or something." She laughed again, music to Draco's ears.

"I'm in Slytherin as well, maybe I could show you around sometime." He said, ignoring the annoying sound of hope in his voice and hoping Zara didn't notice. She smiled at him shyly.

"I'd like that, Draco." He savoured his name on her lips.

Then they were rudely interrupted. "Here you are, dear, your complete uniform. I do hope you enjoy Hogwarts, I know I did." Madame Malkin walked up, thrusting a pile of clothes into Zara's arms. She nodded at Severus, and then turned to Draco. "Now, Master Malfoy, what can I do for you?" Unnoticed by Draco, Zara had stiffened.

"Nothing, I'm just looking." _At my mate,_ he continued silently. Madame Malkin smiled nervously and swiftly walked away. "Now, where were we?" He asked Zara, who frowned.

"Actually, we should get going Draco. It was nice meeting you though." With that his mate left the shop, leaving Draco staring after her, dumbfounded. He turned to Severus.

"What did I say?" Severus shrugged.

"I wouldn't take it personally, she's been through a lot. Now I should probably go after her before she gets lost." He hurried out after Zara, leaving a thoroughly confused Draco behind.

_I finally find my mate and she gets suddenly offended by who knows what and leaves. Why not just stab me in the gut while you're at it?_

**To explain:  
>The entire Malfoy family are Veela, and always have been pretending to be wizards because it made things easier that way. Draco is five years older than the Marauders, but has not aged since he inherited the Veela genes at the age of 18. This is because he needs to find, mark and claim his mate (and have her accept him) before he begins to age again. Snape is also a Veela and Lily was his mate, but she rejected him and went for James instead, so he continued to age again.<strong>

**I know this chapter is short, but it is just an introductory chapter, hopefully the next chapter will be longer.**

**REVIEW PLEASE! ****3**


	2. Chapter 2

**SUMMARY:**** Life is a masquerade in which we all wear masks. Draco Malfoy wears one. There's only one person with whom he lets the mask slip. His mate. The problem is, she's refusing to take hers off. What's behind the mask?**

**DISCLAIMER: I DO ****NOT**** OWN HP, NOR ANYTHING ELSE YOU MAY RECOGNISE... **_**OBVIOUSLY  
><strong>_** *think of that in Severus's voice***

**School's a bitch. I apologise for the long wait.**

**I forgot to explain last chapter, Zara is the same age as Severus but she doesn't look it, due to reasons which will be discovered later in the plot. She looks 17. Zara and Severus are best friends. Also, all of the HP characters are a year older than they are in the books. So because this story is set in the 5th and 6th book, they will be 6th and 7th years. Try and wrap your heads around that :D **

**Thanks to **_**KyaraSalvatore**_**, and **_**cAesY dR**_** for rewiewing chapter one, hope to have more for this chapter :D**

**Previously on **_**"Masquerade"**_**:  
><strong>_" I finally find my mate and she gets suddenly offended by who knows what and leaves. Why not just stab me in the gut while you're at it? "_

Chapter 2:

**Zara's POV**

"That guy, Draco, is he related to Lucius Malfoy?" Zara demanded of Severus once he had caught up with her outside Ollivanders, her eyes flashing silver.

Severus paused. "Well, I don't know how you know Lucius, but yes, Draco is Lucius' son. Why? What's going on?" He replied.

Zara scowled. "Mum knew him. She offered him and his mate protection the first time You-Know-Who decided he wanted to take over the wizarding world. Like the idiot he was, he refused and took the Dark Mark, saying it was 'the safer option' which is complete bull." She kicked a large pebble viciously into a lamp-post ahead of her.

"So you dislike Draco because of a decision his father made?" Severus tried to understand.

There was silence for a long time as Zara organised the words in her mind, figured out what to say.

"The war, my war I mean, changed me. More than I thought, because thanks to the war, I've gone from Hufflepuff to Slytherin. I trust people even less than I did before the war. Which is saying something, you remember what I was like back then. It's not so much as I dislike Draco, I just don't..."

"Like him?" Severus teased and Zara rewarded him with a small grin.

"...Trust him, is what I was going to say."

"Because of who his father is." He stated.

"Partly. Mostly though it's just one of the after-effects of the war."

"Just _one _of the after-effects_?_ How many are there?" Severus quickly asked, as if he were afraid to wait too long in case she clammed up.

Zara gave a bitter, twisted version of a smile. "What, have you never heard of PTSD? You should know what it is, you've got bucket full's of it as well." At Severus' blank look, she shrugged as if shaking off unwanted thoughts. "Look it up. Maybe in a Muggle dictionary." She shrugged again, and pasted a too-bright smile on her face. "Now, Dumbledore said you'd take me to-" Severus cut her off with a wave of his hand.

"Yes, yes. If you're done here, which you should be considering you have everything needed for your _second_ sixth year at Hogwarts, " -here they grinned at each other, sharing an unspoken secret- "we'll go now and get this over with." A thought seemed to strike him. "That memory spell you mentioned, please tell me that isn't in effect anymore with the end of your War."

Zara shrugged. "To be honest I'm not too sure. It should be, although Remus Lupin might still know who I am, because of his wolf side. And the others will know me from being one of the Shadow's that helped them out in tight spots the last time, or at least put a face to one of the masks considering they never actually saw my face and there's not much time for talking when you're fighting for your life. That is, assuming they believe us about who I am." Severus groaned.

"Well in that case, this should be... _interesting."_ He said cynically as he held out his arm for her. Smirking, she took his arm and felt the familiar, yet unpleasant sensation of something pulling at her naval. Everything went out of focus, twisting and blurring, until they found themselves in a Muggle neighbourhood, in front of two houses. That in itself wasn't strange. What was strange though, was that the numbers on the houses didn't add up. The pair were standing directly in front of Number 11, Grimmauld Place.

Next to it, where the house should have been Number 12, it read instead Number 13. This didn't seem to bother either of the two, who simply walked up to the gap in-between number's 11 and 13, and waited. Sure enough, the two houses seemed to pull away from each other on their own accord, with the Muggles inside noticing nothing, and in-between number's 11 and 13 appeared Number 12, which had previously not been there. This was, apparently, what Zara and Severus had been waiting for and they started forward with Zara lifting her hand to knock on the door.

Severus stopped her with a grin. "No, let's ring the doorbell instead, it _pisses_ Black off." Zara blinked, confused, but did as he said and pressed the doorbell. This was almost immediately followed by a man roaring in anger.

"How many times do I have to tell you people, DON'T RING THE DOORBELL-"

"FILTHY HALF-BREEDS! SCUM! BLOOD TRAITORS! HOW DARE YOU-" The first man was cut off by a woman screaming at the top off her lungs, whose voice continued to harp on, many of the words in unrecognisable contexts as though the one screaming them was too disgusted and full of hatred to form fully coherent sentences. The door was opened by none other than Remus Lupin, who smiled congenially at them, ignoring the screaming match going on further into the house. "BANE OF MY BLOOD! DISGUSTING MUD-BLOODS, WORTHLESS SCUM, DISTURBING THE HOUSE OF MY-"

"SOMEONE SHUT MY MOTHER UP BEFORE I SET HER ON FIRE!" The first man's voice was heard again. The woman's voice fell silent.

"Severus and... Zara Platt?" Said the werewolf, still smiling calmly. Zara smirked at Severus.

"Told you he would probably remember me." Her comment was ignored. Behind Remus, another old school mate appeared, scowling.

"Snape, _must_ you insist on wringing that infernal thing _every_ time you arrive for a meeting?" Said Sirius.

"Black." Was all Severus said in reply, his upper lip curling in undisguised hatred.

"Who's this? Dumbledore had better have given permission for her to be here." Sirius had noticed Zara, and he was not happy. "You better not have just shown her the paper naming this place as Headquarters without Dumbledore's permission. We've only just-" He was cut off by Severus.

"Relax, mongrel. Dumbledore personally told Zara about here." He sneered at his childhood nemesis. This got him a smack on the arm from Zara.

"Be nice," she admonished him, "he's our host, after all. Haven't you heard of _not_ biting the hand that feeds you?" A grin played around the edges of Remus' mouth as Severus glared at Zara, and swept the two of them inside past Remus and Sirius.

They soon entered what was obviously the kitchen, in which a crowd of people were gathered around a large wooden table, talking quietly. The buzz of conversation quickly died when the newcomer's appearances were noted.

Behind the pair, Remus and Sirius walked in and quickly took their seats. Dumbledore stood and raised both of his arms in a comforting gesture. "Ah, Severus, you brought Zara here. Good. The meeting can now begin. How are you Zara?" He smiled kindly.

"I'm fine, thank-you, sir." Answered Zara, uncomfortable with all the eyes on her.

"Good, good. Now, everyone," Dumbledore ushered Zara and Severus to two seats near him and spoke to the entire room, "I would like to introduce you all to the one of the previous Order members. Those of you from the last war, " he nodded at Alastor 'Mad-Eye' Moody in acknowledgement, "will have known her as one of the Shadows who helped many Order members out of countless tight spots." An audible murmur rumbled around the room. Dumbledore continued as if he had heard nothing. "Many of you may doubt that because of her apparent young age. I can assure you, however, that I speak the truth. She simply is older than she looks, due to... genetics, if you will. Back then, she went by Zara Platt. This time, she has chosen the sir-name of Shadow, but will retain her first name. Zara, would you like to talk a little of what your duties will be for the Order?"

"Er, sure... Hi. Um, yeah I was one of the Shadows. It was actually a unit called the 'Shadow Warriors' Unit. I am, or rather, I _was_ the leader. The unit is broken up now. I'm not human, and something really important for everyone to know is that my blood is highly poisonous. There is no cure, you will die if you somehow come into contact with it." Someone snorted in disbelief. "I have had enough fighting to last several lifetimes, so I will be the Order's full-time healer. I will only fight if absolutely necessary."

"I don't believe you're a Shadow. Prove it." Said Moody, staring distrustfully at Zara with both eyes, magical and real. Zara's left eye twitched, but otherwise she showed no sign of having heard him.

"Due to my apparent age, I will be going to Hogwarts as a sixth year student, and keeping an eye on Harry Potter. I will also be there for Severus should he need a healer after a summons from You-Know-Who. Not many of you will deal with me, and those of you that do -aside from Severus- will have very little to do with me. Don't ask me about what I am, there's a law that says I legally can't tell humans, so don't push me. That's really all I have to say." She caught Severus' eye and gave a small smile.

**Zara's War that she talks about is not a wizard war.**

**REVIEW!**


	3. Chapter 3

**SUMMARY:**** Life is a masquerade in which we all wear masks. Draco Malfoy wears one. There's only one person with whom he lets the mask slip. His mate. The problem is, she's refusing to take hers off. What's behind the mask?**

**DISCLAIMER: I DO ****NOT**** OWN HP, NOR ANYTHING ELSE YOU MAY RECOGNISE. I do, however, own Zara and her past :DDDD**

**Thanks to **_**'HermioneandMarcus**_**' and **_**'bloodrose's dance'**_** for reviewing Chapter 2! 3**

**So, it has been brought to my attention that there is some confusion about Zara's friendship with Remus, Severus and Sirius. DO NOT FRET! I plan on addressing that in this chapter :)**

**Previously on "**_**Masquerade"**_**:  
><strong>**"**_**"...**__ Don't ask me about what I am, there's a law that says I legally can't tell humans, so don't push me. That's really all I have to say." She caught Severus' eye and gave a small smile._ **"**

Chapter 3:

**Zara's POV:**

"What's through there?" The billion-and-somethingth question was issued from Zara's mouth. The meeting at Grimmauld Place had ended hours ago, and now Zara and Severus were at Severus' place at Spinner's End. She was amusing herself by exploring, woefully ignorant of his plans to cheerfully murder her and bury her in the pathetic excuse for a garden if she kept interrogating him for much longer.

"My parent's rooms." He replied in a dangerously quiet voice that let her know she was treading on thin ice. Obligingly, Zara shut her mouth, and for a few blissful minutes, was silent as she continued to poke her head into every room in his childhood home.

Eventually, they settled themselves in an old living room, the interior of which had clearly seen better days. After flitting about for a bit, Zara decided on a book and sat down on the couch next to Severus. For a long time, the neglected room was filled with only the noise of a page turning. Until-

"Sev?" With a sigh, the addressed closed his book and looked at her.

"Yes, dear?" He said in a mockingly cheerful voice.

"Why do you still live here? After all these years, especially with your childhood-" His temper flared instantly.

"My childhood? What's that supposed to mean? Just because I didn't-" She rolled her eyes.

"You know what I mean Sev, stop feigning ignorance. It doesn't suit you." A dark look appeared on his face. "I'm serious. Why haven't you sold this place and get as much distance from it as possible? That's what'd I would do in your position. That's what I _have done_. Why are you still here?" Said Zara. "You don't have to stay."

"Yes I do." His voice was unexpectedly tired sounding, as though he'd thought about this so much he was weary of the subject. "I lived here when I met _her_. And now she's gone. A part of me feels like... If I leave, I'm..." He trailed off.

"Leaving her behind?" Questioned Zara gently.

"Yeah." His shoulders slumped, as if in defeat.

"Lily made a stupid mistake in choosing someone else. One I'm sure that on some level she regretted." She tried to comfort him. "Lily and I were friends, but unlike me, she chose to let rivalries get in the way. I remained friends with all of you, but she chose to take sides. It was her decision."

"She was my _mate_. I should have done something, I should have _fought harder for her_. Maybe then she would still be alive and I wouldn't feel every day as though I should be dead."

"No, Sev, _you don't know that_. It does no one any good to dwell on the past, no matter how attractive a prospect it may be."

"Why are we having this conversation again? The last time, you said it would not happen again."

"That's because last time, you said you would try and move forward." She chided Severus. "That didn't happen and, somehow, I don't think I'll be able to get you to promise that again, because you're sober." She ignored the pointless glare sent her way.

"_The point is,_ I'm not moving house." He drawled, bringing their conversation back to the beginning, then changing the subject entirely. "So, how does that memory spell work exactly?"

"It... What? Why the sudden subject chan- you know what, never mind. Do you mean the one affecting Sirius Black?"

"Why, do you have others you haven't told me about?"

"What? That's ridiculous!" Her eyes darted away from his and back. "Um, yeah so the memory spell. Right. It's a long story."

"I've got time." He smirked. She shrugged.

"You asked for it. My kind was supposed to have been wiped out centuries ago by because of wizard kind doing experiments on us. We're supposed to be extinct. Only, the Royal Family saw what the wizards were doing to my kind, and made a law forbidding us to tell any human of our existence. Most of us either left earth and returned to our home world, or went into hiding in the Muggle world.

"The King of that time then borrowed magic from various powerful wizards and other magical creatures and made a spell. The memory spell I told you about. Basically it affects all humans, and if one of my kind were to come into contact with a human, then after about five years, the human, or humans, forgets them entirely.

"How you asked earlier about whether or not the spell was still active, **(A/N, See Chapter One)** the end of the war is not relevant to it. The spell remains intact until someone convinces King Ryan -the current king- to abolish the law." Zara paused and grinned, a knowing smile, before continuing. "The only reason that you and Remus still remember me is that neither of you are human."

The was a long silence as Severus let this new information sink into his brain. He stood up and put away his book, Zara following suit slowly.

"What about Dumbledore?" He asked.

"What about Dumbledore?" She parroted.

"How does he remember you?"

"Oh. Well he was smart. My family told him what we were when we first came here, back in the 70's, just after Jenni and I had inherited. We had to, so that he would understand why we were only taking the classes that did not involve wand lore. I actually asked him that, how he remembered me, and he told me that as soon as I graduated, he put all his memories of me and my family in a pensive and kept them there. Every four years, he's been watching the memories again, sort of like _refreshing_ them, to cheat the spell. Once the law is lifted, which could be any time soon, I'll tell him, and he won't have to do that anymore." She wandered into the kitchen and poured herself a glass of water, parched after all her talking.

Severus shook his head, as though breaking a chain of thought. "Let's call it a day. Guest bedroom is, well, you know where it is. If you need anything, don't wake me up." She outright laughed at the mock threatening expression in his face as he muttered a 'good night' and shuffled on up the stairs.

Thoughtfully, Zara sipped at her water, gazing without seeing at a cupboard door. Her thoughts were focused solely on her family, or rather her solitary family member. She wondered how her sister, Jenni, was faring which her new situation. She was completely unaware, perhaps for the better, of the upheaval going on in another part of the country due to her.

**Ugh. There's so much **_**talking**_** in this chapter. But things needed to be explained, hopefully everything is a lot clearer now, and you got an insight into the friendship of Zara and Severus.**

**But guess what?**

**NEXT CHAPTER will be in DRACO POV!**

**REVIEW and let me know what you think! 3**


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